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Enlarge Image Artificial leaf. A new device absorbs sunlight (blue) and sends that energy to catalysts that split water (green) and generate hydrogen gas (black). Credit: S. Y. Reece et al./Science Two independent research teams report today in Science that they've taken key strides toward harnessing the energy in sunlight to synthesize chemical fuels. If the new work can be improved, scientists could utilize Earth's most abundant source of renewable energy to power everything from industrial plants to cars and trucks without generating additional greenhouse gases. Today, humans consume an average of 15 trillion watts of power, 85% of...

Washington, Aug 1 : Researchers at the MIT have found a new way to store solar power, a major breakthrough in the search to use the sun and serve the Earth's energy needs in a clean and sustainable way. Every hour, the sun pours down enough radiation to serve the Earth's energy needs for a year. The trouble is to store that energy cheaply and use it whenever needed. Daniel Nocera and Matthew Kanan of the Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a process that will use the sun's energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later,...

ASSOCIATED PRESS WISCASSET, Maine -- A $250,000 demonstration project that produces hydrogen energy to provide backup lighting and warmth at the Chewonki Foundation's environmental education center was hailed at its unveiling Monday as the first of its kind in the nation. The nonprofit foundation teamed up with the Portland-based Hydrogen Energy Center to develop the system that was touted as an example of the kind of cutting-edge technology that can reduce dependence on fossil fuels and help ease global warming. "Hydrogen represents a huge growth industry, and the creation of this partnership will put Maine on the leading edge as...

Rosen: Our silly little 'addiction' Sometimes you get great life lessons in unexpected places. Kudos to Scott Adams, the cartoonist who writes the Dilbert comic strip. Adams cut through the fog and gave his readers a valuable insight into the real-world international politics and economics of the energy conundrum. In a recent strip, Dilbert readers were treated to the following exchange: Dilbert: I'm thinking about buying a more fuel-efficient car. Dogbert: Why? Dilbert: It's my patriotic duty to reduce this country's dependence on foreign sources of oil. Dogbert: Why? Dilbert: Because then the countries that hate us will have less...